THREE AND A HALF TO FOUR STARS!

I've always been an unapologetic Inception fan and so when I read the blurb for this book, there was no way that I could pass on it. And I was not disappointed at all, not only did it bring all my Inception feels to the fore but it also had me drowning in its own feels as this book had its own style, despite there being similarities within the dream world and concept.

Darkness Falls is a paranormal romance that is set in what seems like a contemporary future. Reve, the french word for "dream," is a pop culture phenomenon thats taking the world by storm, with so many people signing up to enter a shared dream space where they can indulge in their fantasy lives. One such person is the ever reluctant and sensible Jordan Lane, who, accompanying her sister Maisie into the dreamworld, is marked by a Chimera agent by the name of Malcolm Rook. When it becomes obvious that Jordan has an uncanny ability for the dream world, she becomes the target of an unknown, shady organisation. Thus begins Jordan and Rook's fight for survival, but they quickly come to realise that Rook's demons may be a far greater danger.

I quite enjoyed this book. I found myself relating to Jordan in that I've always been the sensible sister, always shouldering the responsibility so that my younger sister could be absolutely carefree, so I definitely felt a connection pretty much from the get go. What made me absolutely love her was how she grew into her wicked powers and how absolutely fierce she was when it comes to protecting the ones that she cares for. This is a woman who is more than capable of rescuing herself and it just makes my heart thump wildly in admiration. Rook, for me was a good character, though he didn't stand out as much as Jordan did. I did, however, appreciate how protective and possessive he was of Jordan and how he drew strength from her to face his own demons.

How did a man catch up with his own nightmare? He had the answer now: when his woman was fighting it every step of the way.

Right on, bro. Right on.

Also, what really worked for me was Joshua. I don't know about you guys but evil/scary kids have the power to scare the hell out of me. And when I say scare, I mean whimper pathetically while hiding under my bed covers. So when I read about Joshua and his freaky appearances, I freaked out appropriately and cheered Jordan on.

So why not five stars? Even though I really enjoyed this book, there were several aspects that stopped me from being head over heels in love with it. The first is the length of the book. I understand its a novella, but I feel this book could have been so much more if it was longer. Its such a rich concept that 115 pages couldn't possibly be enough to fully explore not just the dreamworld but the characters as well. Which leads me to my next point that everything unfolded rather quickly, often times too quickly. For Jordan and Rook, whilst I had no problem with the instant attraction between them, I would have loved it if the author could have built their relationship up more. I found myself wishing for some witty banter or for some training sessions that would somehow turn steamy. For the story itself, I wish the fight scenes could have been prolonged for us to get a better grip on Jordan's powers, to learn her limits and possibly see it begin to evolve. The only other issue I had was the writing style. I know everyone has their own unique style but I found Erin's a bit so-so for me. At times it was brilliant and well suited for the story at hand, at other times I found it sometimes awkward, often making scenes disjointed somewhat.

Overall though, I quite enjoyed this book. Definitely need to check out the second book in this series!

FOUR AND A HALF STARS!

If you have never read a Linda Howard book in your life, then Heart of Fire would be an awesome book to introduce you to her. Being a huge fan of hers, I can't help but be a little biased when it comes to her works, but ultimately, I think this is a sure winner for fans of contemporary romances who adore strong women, sexy and unabashed heroes and a little suspense to keep those pages turning.

Jillian Sherwood is a woman with nothing to lose. All her life, she has had to work under the label given to her late father, a "crackpot" scholar who's flights of whimsy had eventually claimed his life. His standing within the archaeology community had made it so that others do not take her seriously, despite being fairly successful within her own right. Angered at the way opportunities are being withheld from her, Jillian peruses through her father's work, determined to clear his name and to kickstart her dwindling career. It is here that she discovers her father's findings on a lost Amazon city based around the myth of "the heart of The Empress," a myth that draws the interest of her deadbeat brother and his associate. They enlist the help of a river guide, Ben Lewis, and as their team travels towards the lost city, Jillian comes to realise that clearing her father's name may be too high a price for her to pay.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book. All the characters worked for me. Jillian is a strong and feisty female, smart and savvy and not your typical heroine in the sense that she is trim, small-breasted and entirely capable, which is a refreshing change. Ben is your loveable rascal, simple with his wants and pleasures, and generally good guy. The connection between them is instantaneous, and the progression of their relationship is sexy and slow, so that when they both start dropping the L-word, you have no doubts about the sincerity of their words. And the banter, my goodness, the banter is amazing. Case in point:

He looked suspiciously at her purse.

"No, it isn't in there," she said and smiled at him. "And I'm not buying your act. You found it when you searched my room, so you know I have a pistol, you know what kind it is, and you know where it is."

He smiled back at her, not denying the charge. Of course he had searched her room while he'd had the chance. "You have nice underwear."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Did you try it on?"

Nah. Just rubbed my face against it."

What also worked was the overall simplicity of the story. There aren't any plot twists that you wouldn't see coming; its all pretty straightforward. The imagery is great, and I could certainly envision every aspect of their journey. I also enjoyed the sense of empowerment this book gave to women. What with Jillian being perfectly capable of taking care of herself, much to the chagrin of Ben's overprotective and possessive instincts, the feature of female warriors, and strangely enough, Teresa, with her uncomplicated sexuality and the fact that Ben praises it rather than demeans her for it.

Would I recommend it? Yes, a thousand times yes. If you're a hopeless romantic like me with a streak for adventure, then you would absolutely love this book!

THREE STARS!

If you're looking for a quick and easy read with a little bit of everything in it, then Hot Secrets is just the right book for you. Former FBI agent, Royce Walker, has been asked by Senator Reynolds to look into a few matters concerning his daughter, the ever proper Lauren Reynolds, Assistant DA. Upon meeting, there is an instant connection between the two which leads to an intended one night stand. However, the presence of danger in Lauren's life has Royce pushing to be more than just a one night stand. With things quickly spiralling downhill, Lauren quickly learns to trust Royce with her life, but can she learn to trust him with her heart?

I liked reading this book. Its very fast paced, the action keeping things from dragging on. Royce and Lauren are great characters, Royce more so than Lauren for me. He's everything you want in a guy, hot, protective, possessive, supportive and quite open, which was a nice change from other alpha males who never share anything with their woman. Lauren was a bit frustrating at times, though due to the fast pace, you didn't really have time to dwell on it. I simply got annoyed and then got over it.

I enjoyed the secondary characters, the most stand out for me was Blake Walker. I absolutely loved his frankness and his backstory was heart breaking. To me, he was the star of the book, he says things as it is and doesn't pull his punches.

"He's been a wreck, worried you would hate him, worried about protecting you. And that woman on the machine was nothing to him, Lauren. Nothing. You are...You need to be with him, so you two can try and work this out."

That right there just absolutely works for me.

So why not five stars? As I mentioned before, this book is really fast paced. I think I would have been really engrossed in this book if it was a bit longer and took the time to develop the story well, to allow for a greater connection with the characters. As it was, while I enjoyed the characters, I wasn't emotionally invested in the story and could only drum up a bit of warmth for the story as a whole.

There were some other tidbits such as formatting errors and spelling mistakes but I'm contributing it to the fact that I received this copy off of NetGalley.

THREE AND A HALF STARS!

At only 175 pages, Deviant is a very quick, hot and action filled read. It follows the story of Sloane Romera's desperate search for her missing sister Alexis. She is willing to do anything to find her, including giving up her v-card to an intense stranger for information that can potentially lead her to Alexis' whereabouts. But the lead falls through and Sloane's left reeling from the betrayal. Until she meets with the stranger, better known as Zeth, at the hospital where she currently works at two years later. Things are still intense and heated between them and it doesn't take long before their relationship explodes.

I enjoyed this novella for the most part. I think it could have easily been longer so the cliffhanger had me squinting at my computer screen in frustration. There are a lot of trigger potentials so a massive warning to anyone who may not be able to stomach a darker read. There were quite a few spelling mistakes and such but they were very minor and overall did not affect the overall story. Also, the two mcs are definitely likeable. Sloane was a better stand out character than Zeth in my eyes, she was just so incredibly BAMF to me and it was easier to connect with her, even despite it being a novella.

Why not five stars? The lack of five stars was really a personal issue. I had no idea how dark this book was (well, dark in the sense that I generally read books about rainbows and sunshine and candy) so when the sex scenes came and it was like:

Me being the weiner that I am was like:

I'm sure those who have a stronger stomach than my puny one will have no problem handling this read.

Looking forward to continuing the story.

FOUR AND A HALF STARS!

I was so nervous starting this book because I wasn't too inspired after reading the blurb, envisioning drunken dials and psychotic creepings, but I was pleasantly surprised by this little gem that I'm so glad that I decided to give it a shot.

Fixed on You starts off with that typical cliche proposal of I need to hire you as my fake!girlfriend so we can do fake things together and convince people that our fakeness is so real. Not to mention the added cringe-worthy drama of the heroine, Alayna Withers, being somewhat involved with another co-worker who she has tagged as her safe, happy ever after option but having a major lady boner for the new owner of the club where she works at, Hudson Pierce. But what evolves is a heart wrenching story of two broken people trying to break free from the tethers of their destructive pasts and learning to trust one another, despite all that stands in their way.

What really worked for me in this book was Alayna's character. I enjoyed the fact that she was open with her dealings with Hudson. If she was hurt and needed to clear the air, she opened her mouth and said so. If she felt like her unhealthy behaviours were starting to rear its ugly head, she was proactive about it and put up boundaries, went to her group sessions, worked through her techniques and coping mechanisms. If someone was a total bitch to her, she bitched right back at them and put them in their place. But what really got to me about her was the emotional pull that ambushed me. The bitter shame she feels when she realises she's relapsed into dangerous behaviours, the hurt she feels when her dismal familial support network falls apart, the emotional turmoil that she undergoes when her analytical mind obsesses over things Hudson said. The struggle was real, and I was overwhelmed with the connection I felt towards Alayna's character as a reader.

I did understand him. More than I had ever thought possible. What it felt like to be a certain way and to loathe myself for it. How difficult it was to change and learn to accept the parts of me that were fundamentally never going to change. And what it did to me to believe I was incapable of falling in love the way normal people do.

Hudson was also a character that really worked for me. I'd seen a few reviews that labelled him as an asshole, but for me, it didn't quite ring true. Yes, he may have been an asshole in the past, but I think many forget that one of the ongoing themes within the book is struggling to progress from where you were and not falling back into that black hole. Hudson has trouble coming to terms with his feelings, which is perfectly understandable considering his background, but his actions throughout the book isn't that of an intentional asshole, rather, someone trying to learn the ropes of having to be mindful of another's thoughts and feelings.

Other things that really worked for me were the sweet moments between Alayna and Hudson. There are some really awesome quotes in this book that had me drowning in feels:

He almost smiled, but squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to reign in his emotions. When he opened them again, they were pleading. "Alayna, don't quit. Don't quit me."

So, why not five stars? For me, the beginning was a little slow and it almost seemed like a typical run of the mill book until Paige changes the game and allows for readers to really get to know and connect with the two mcs. Not to mention the ever lulzworthy quote from the beginning of the book (before Alayna begins her journey of growth):

I glanced down at the black slinky pants that were so tight they gave me camel toe.

Lol. Camel toes and moose knuckles are definitely not my thing. So glad Hudson talks her into changing her wardrobe.

Overall, a surprisingly good read. Definitely continuing on with this series.